This invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly to a golf club known as a putter, in which the striking face of the putter is formed by a metallic beam, supported at each end but unsupported between its ends.
Putting is a major part of the game of golf. It is known that most putters must strike the ball at the dead centre of the xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d of the striking face, in order to achieve maximum accuracy. Blade putters have been designed with the shaft centered on the face. In theory when the ball is struck dead Centre, with this kind of putter, there will be no torsional moment. However it is seldom that the average player can reach such a degree of perfection. Usually the ball is slightly off Centre on the face, and this causes twisting of the shaft. Weighting of the club head enhances its performance when striking the ball over a long distance. Applying weight in specific locations of the head improves club stability by keeping the swing path constant as well as providing greater resistance against rotation upon striking the ball at a location other than on the sweet spot. Conventional putters are at a disadvantage, due to their very small sweet spot, on which it is difficult to contact the ball accurately upon swinging the club. The sweet spot is the area of the club face where the impact force is balanced by the weight of the club head ,and club head rotation is thus reduced as close as possible to zero, thus eliminating torsional force from being transmitted through the head, the shaft and finally to the hands of the player. This area is also known as the putter""s Centre of percussion. Striking the club face outside the sweet spot imparts a torsional force thus robbing the club of the desired energy for propelling the ball towards the target. Hitting the ball outside the sweet spot also reduces directional accuracy in reaching the intended target.
Another factor is that the design of most putters attempts to make the striking face as rigid as possible, in the hope that this will increase accuracy. In fact however it produces the reverse effect. It is surprisingly found that the more rigid the face the greater the rebound characteristics and there is a tendency for the ball to be deflected away from its intended path, when it is hit off Centre on the face.
In accordance with the present invention the putter is provided with a striking face made of a metallic beam, usually a bronze blade. Each end of the beam is supported, in a club body, but the length of the beam between the two ends is unsupported. This enables the beam to behave with the engineering characteristics of a true beam. It is known that a beam in an engineered structure will flex between the two ends, where it is unsupported. The design of structures is calculated to allow for such flexing, and in fact this is an inherent quality of a beam and the degree of flexing can be calculated and allowed for. When these principles are applied, in accordance with the invention to the construction of the striking face of a putter, it will be seen that even though short, the unsupported central part of the beam will flex, upon impact with the ball. This flexing tends to give greater control to the direction of the path of the ball. Even when the ball is struck off Centre along the beam, the fact that the beam flexes, even though only slightly, will tend to direct the ball along its intended path. It also tends to reduce torsional forces by distributing the impact load to each end of the beam to be absorbed by the head. These torsional forces would otherwise tend to twist the handle in the hands of the player, sending the ball off course.
Preferably the beam is set at its two ends in metal epoxy.
The club head is designed with a crescent shaped head, typically of wood. A cavity is formed at the end of each of the crescent shaped arms. The ends of the beam are received in respective cavities, and embedded in synthetic bonding material, preferably epoxy material.
Preferably the club head is attached to a shaft formed with a double offset bend. This has the effect of lining up the axis of the shaft with the front face of the putter. Preferably the crescent shape of the club head defines a generally triangular recess or space between the back face of the beam or blade and the head. The head thus becomes in effect a sort of sounding box when the ball is struck. When the ball is struck it develops a distinctive sound. The closer the ball struck to the sweet spot, the truer the sound produced. This particular feature provides the player an audible indication when the ball has been struck at the optimum location on the blade. It is widely known that a player should keep his eyes on the ball and not look up until the ball almost reaches the hole. Utilizing the sense of sound in this fashion without looking up, provides the player with an additional advantage.
This invention also employs a unique means of blade support, which is different from the traditional putters available today. In the case of other mallet head type putters, their blade or their striking surface is embedded into or forms an integral part of the putter head where the blade may be of the same material as the rest of the head. In the case of a solid putter head, the face may become rigid and unable to resonate. In the case of those clubs where the blade is homogeneous with the head at the ends, the blade tends to behave like a fully fixed beam having a natural frequency based on material, thickness and length of the supported blade.
In the present invention, the blade is formed of metal approximately 0.25 inch thick, usually bronze, having ends which are embedded in a metal epoxy mixture in cavities at each end of the crescent shaped wooden club body. Other materials for the head may also be employed yielding similar performance results. This means of supporting the blade will change the degree of fixity to that of a semi-fixed beam and will change the natural frequency of the blade giving a better feel to the player when striking the ball. It will also provide less of a shock to the hands in the event of a miss hit.
The present invention uses a brass plate sole to provide weight at the bottom of the head thereby lowering the center of gravity for optimized blade to ball contact. The lowered center of gravity thus provides maximum swing arc energy to the ball at club impact. It also prevents ball skip for the long distance shots across the green, which is a common problem with other putters. The combination of the bronze blade, brass sole and hardwood head, in terms of weight, provides improved anti-rotation features over other conventional clubs mainly because of the large concentration of weight behind the face of the blade. This gives a solid feel to the player for long distance puts where more mass resistance is required at time of impact.
The constant depth blade provides a generous sweet spot for the average player who is likely to miss the ideal location on the face. The blade is positioned above the sole of the club to prevent it from digging into the playing surface as the club moves through the swing arc. Angular profile is provided to the bottom surface of the head to cater to various ground clearance conditions and player""s personal preferences for holding the club.
Preferably the top of the head is flat and parallel with the sole. This provides a visual reference to the player of the club""s alignment with the playing surface. In this way the player can ensure that the ball is struck perpendicularly to the face of the blade thus sending the ball true to the target.
Preferably a ball to target visual alignment feature is provided by a set of sight lines extending from across the top surface of the blade to the top surface of the head in the form of a linear groove. These sight lines, due to the size and extent of the top surface of the club, are of greater length than sight lines on conventional putters giving the player an extra advantage. When utilized properly, and the sight groove aligned to the target, the ball upon striking will be sent in a direction that is perpendicular to the face of the blade thus providing the desired results.